With less than 13 months to the 2027 general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is confronting internal tensions as five sitting governors who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and several allied lawmakers face an uncertain future within the ruling party, political analysts say.
The wave of high‑profile defections into the APC has bolstered numerical strength but also stirred leadership disputes and fierce competition for party positions and election tickets.
In Akwa Ibom State, Governor Umo Eno’s defection from the PDP in June 2025 alongside Senate President Godswill Akpabio has heightened concerns about how governorship and legislative tickets will be shared without triggering internal clashes.
While Eno and Akpabio publicly spoke of mutual trust and a plan to deliver the state to the APC, 26 lawmakers and political appointees who defected with the governor have expressed uncertainty over their own electoral prospects within the party.
One lawmaker told reporters that “the smiles between Akpabio and Governor Eno will fade once INEC blows the whistle” as competition intensifies.
Delta State politics has also shifted since Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s defection on April 28, 2025, joined by his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. Oborevwori has secured broad backing within the APC and is widely endorsed as the party’s governorship candidate for 2027.
However, uncertainty persists over the political future of former APC figures such as former Deputy Senate President Senator Ovie Omo‑Agege, whose silence on his own ambitions raises questions about intra‑party competition.
In Bayelsa State, Governor Douye Diri’s defection has strengthened APC control of the state executive and legislature, expanding the party’s influence in the South‑South.
While factions loyal to Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and former Governor Timipre Sylva have since accepted Diri’s leadership, concerns linger about how deeply entrenched party loyalists will reconcile with the newly integrated PDP leadership within APC structures.
Meanwhile, Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s recent defection to the APC from the PDP has sparked fresh crisis in Rivers State, accentuating divisions within both the APC and the state’s political elite.
Fubara’s move, facilitated by APC Governors’ Forum chairman, Hope Uzodimma, reportedly drew the ire of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who was not consulted prior to the governor’s meeting with President Bola Tinubu and subsequent defection. The political rift has underscored the complexities of aligning defected governors with existing party structures and loyalties.
In Plateau State, Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s prospective defection to the APC echoes broader national patterns of political realignment.
According to sources, Mutfwang is nearing completion of the process ahead of the 2027 cycle, a move that could reconfigure party dynamics in a state long regarded as a PDP stronghold.
Analysts caution that unresolved rivalries and poorly managed integration of defected leaders and lawmakers may fuel internal fractures within the APC ahead of primaries and elections.
Questions remain whether the party can convert elite consensus into grassroots cohesion, or whether these internal battles will weaken its cohesion in key states as the 2027 general elections approach.
The unfolding situation highlights the challenge facing the APC in managing its expanded ranks of defectors and ensuring that ticket allocations and leadership roles reflect both loyalty and electoral viability within the party.
